A Slap in the Face
by RubyRaisin
Summary: James copes (or rather can't cope) with Snape getting a job at Hogwarts. He just can't trust the guy. Completed story...not yet all posted. LJ fluff.
1. Chapter 1

James didn't need to look up. He knew who it was. Only one person would shuffle her cold feet across the carpet in that way. She paused in the doorway and he glanced up at his flannel-clad wife drinking her hot chocolate with a thin marshmallow mustache. She held his gaze.

He'd had a hard day, but she had too. He could tell by the way her deep, green eyes looked worn out. He hoped that he was less readable, but the sympathetic grin she gave him killed that thought.

She strode quietly over to him and sat her warm drink on a coaster beside the bed. He stood and wrapped his arms around her waist, conveying support to his love. At his gesture, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and rested her forehead in the nook of his nose.

"Long day?" he whispered.

She sighed slightly in response and he inhaled the sweet chocolate of her breath. He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned away slightly. He jerked back in surprise and at his silent question she again sighed.

She felt his body tense in offense at her cold reception, but she quickly reached her finger up to his lips, silencing all comments. Their gaze held, and Lily silently pleaded with her husband for peace. He seemed to understand, and after a loving kiss on her forehead, he grabbed her hand and her hot chocolate and led her from the room.

She leaned her head against the bare muscles of his back as he pulled her into the kitchen. They always talked things out in the kitchen. It was an unspoken understanding.

She pushed herself onto the counter top and wrapped her legs around James' waist. He planted his hands on either side of her hips and looked expectantly up. She sighed and took a sip of hot chocolate, steeling herself for the upcoming conversation.

"Dumbledore hired a new potions master," she said.

Relief and confusion swept over James' face. "Finally."

"It's Snape," she clarified.

At this, James' knuckles turned white, and in his anger he inaudible growled, "What?"

"The staff was just informed today," she explained hurriedly as he drew back from her and began pacing, stroking his forehead in thought. Lily, who had taken a temporary position at Hogwarts as a Charms professor while Flitwick took an indefinite vacation to work on a mission for Dumbledore, had expected the murderous anger her husband was emitting.

He glanced up at her, and she saw fire in his eyes; the fire that told her James Potter was going to get his way. She had detested that look all through school, but it had grown endearing, and she smiled at her determined husband.

"I know you James," she warned. "And I know that you are going to act on this feeling of injustice. But please remember that Dumbledore gave him the position. You do trust Dumbledore, right?"

He nodded and muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?" she asked as she jumped off the counter and strode to where her husband stood.

"I've got to talk to Sirius," he stated, then he pulled her into a passionate kiss, conveying all his love for her and displeasure in the situation through his lips. And this time, she kissed back, relieved at having shared her haunting news and understanding his need for affection.

She knew that the revelation had successfully disturbed her husband, but she also knew that James could take care of himself. He pulled back from her and she slowly opened her eyes, enjoying their fleeting moment of affection.

"I've got to talk to Sirius," he repeated as he swept through the swinging door into the living room.

She sighed and smiled, picking up her hot chocolate.

She headed into the bedroom, knowing that it would be a long time until her husband joined her. Her indignant sweetheart and his impulsive friend would no doubt be up late into the night in colorful discussion, and would both be in Dumbledore's office first thing in the morning.

Lily climbed into the bed on James' side and started grading papers. She'd stay up and wait for James to come to bed, and if she fell asleep, he'd wake her up for being in his way. He'd probably wake her up anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

1

He was angry. Sirius could tell just by looking at him. Most people wouldn't have been able to, but Sirius knew James far too well. He truly hoped that his friend hadn't been in a fight with Lily, because James' ego and Lily's stubbornness were more than he could take right now. But why else would his friend call him up here so late? It had been all he could do to muster the strength to come to is friend's house.

"What is it, Prongs?" He asked with mock casualness as he removed his toboggan.

James stared dumbly at Sirius for a moment. And with no response from James, Sirius tool two long strides over to where his friend sat on the couch, imprinting snow on the rug. He knelt, and put a comforting mittened hand on James' shoulder.

"Just apologize, mate. She'll understand," Sirius encouraged.

"I'm not in a fight with Lily _all _the time, you idiot!" James shouted, taken aback and forgetting his immediate problem.

Sirius made an exaggerated study of the clock and glared large, doubtful eyes up at James. James playfully shoved Sirius, causing a large thump as Sirius hit the ground.

"Well you'll be in a fight if you don't pipe down,"Sirius laughed.

The deep smile lines around Sirius' eyes brought back pleasant memories, and James grinned. Not for the first time did the two lock eyes and miss the old days where they saw each other constantly and were the most important people in each others' lives.

Their friendship hadn't diminished, but the days of sheltered life were over, and the boys had been forced into becoming men. They had assumed responsibilities and were not at liberty to spend every waking moment with each other any longer.

Although, if you asked Lily, they saw plenty of Sirius, who, instead of resigning himself to the precedence Lily now took in James' life, adopted Lily as an extension of James. He joined them for dinner almost every night and the guys worked together.

James was quick and vehement in informing Sirius of Snape's appointment as potions master. And their intense rivalry with Severus Snape was renewed.

Sirius, who had always hated Snape and had also been overly protective of Lily since she had started dating James, mimicked the stare of dumbstruck astonishment James' face had displayed upon Sirius' entry. After his initial shock, Sirius didn't take the news any better than James had, and the outburst of colorful language that had been expected, came. But James, though agreeing wholeheartedly with Sirius, kept his aggravation quieter, not wanting to awaken Lily.

"We've got to get Remus and Peter over here immediately," Sirius declared after a few minutes of complaining and stating his general disbelief.

And that is exactly what they did.


	3. Chapter 3

1

James carefully lifted the papers off of his sleeping beauty, and stacked them neatly on the desk in the adjoining office. Looking down at her, he felt a wave of love and an intense desire to hold her. But the fear of waking her stopped him. Although he had caught the hidden message behind her sleeping arrangement, he wanted her to get her sleep, and he was tired also.

He walked around the bed and climbed in as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. She remained asleep, so James pushed his luck a step further and wrapped a protective arm around her, pulling her into his body. She pleasantly sighed, and he tightened his grip, nestling his head further into her hair, and rubbing his lips against the back of her neck.

James loved having Lily as his own, and took advantage of his unique situation and studied her sleeping form. Her breathing was unusually deep after his subdued commotion of getting into bed, and James found himself worried that she might be working herself too hard. Or perhaps she was taking this Snape thing harder than she thought.

But a nagging voice in the back of his head told him that her need for sleep was brought on by himself and his selfish act of keeping her up late most nights. She wasn't as accustomed to late nights as he was.

At this thought, James became more proud of his decision not to wake his wife, and was just settling himself in for a night of sweet dreams when he was jerked awake by the need to sneeze.

James sprung from the bed in an effort to get away from Lily and shelter her from the oncoming explosion. But the surprising action awoke Lily, and James' plans of rest for her were spoiled.

"Bless you," she sleepily mumbled.

James exhaled loudly, saddened by the awareness she was beginning to gain and sorry that she wouldn't have a full night of uninterrupted sleep. But just as he was about to apologize, he noticed the clock by the side of the bed.

"I guess I'll just go ahead and wake up," Lily announced. "The alarm clock is about to go off anyways."

"I had no idea it was already morning," James gasped.

"Still tired?"Lily asked innocently through a yawn. "I didn't even hear you come in. How much sleep did you get?"

James smiled. "None. I was just getting in. I considered waking you, but changed my mind...You are so beautiful."

"And you are so dead," she retorted. "You've got practice today."

"Not 'til afternoon," he said. "I'll take a nap after I go see Dumbledore."

She ran a hand through her haphazard hair and pushed the covers off of her. She turned the alarm clock off, and stood up.

"You'd better try and get at least an hour of sleep," she suggested as she leaned into her husband for a hug. Then she led him towards the bed and tucked him in.

"Wait," James urged, "lay down with me, Lily."

She smiled. "Just for a minute, baby," and she climbed over the top of James and underneath the overstuffed comforter.

She snuggled close to her husband, burying her face into his neck and pressing his body into his own. She was surprised and began to giggle as he chewed on her ear.

"What are you doing?" she asked into his bare shoulder.

Her muffled question mixed with his gentle laugh; the laugh that could melt the heart of every girl.

"I can't sleep unless I've had a bedtime snack," he quipped softly. "And this is my favorite kind."

She pulled away for a moment in amusement, but he aggressively followed her body. He pressed down on top of her and began to roughly kiss her mouth.

Her hands ran through his hair as his weight fell on top of her. That combined with her fast heart rate and his incessant hold on her lips, mad it increasingly hard for Lily to breathe properly. Her chest began to heave as he pulled away, resting on his back with his hands underneath his head.

He had a contented look on his smug face as she recovered from the sporadic whim of her husband.

"Bedtime's fun," he sighed as his eyelids drooped and his breathing became regular.

She hurriedly grabbed a towel and jumped in the shower. She would need to leave for work in an hour.

After showering and preparing for school, she gently nudged James awake.


	4. Chapter 4

Lily strode down the hall and up to Dumbledore's office. She knocked quietly and waited. She knew the old man was going to be busy this morning, but she felt he deserved ample warning. Four exasperated young men could be hard to deal with. She knew from experience.

She heard the kind voice of the headmaster telling her to enter. She stuck her head into the doorway and was surprised to see Professor McGonogall and the infamous Mr. Snape in Dumbledore's office.

"Excuse me," Lily quickly apologized and was backing out of the room when she heard the headmaster's kind voice inviting her back in.

"How may I help you, Professor Potter?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

Lily was slightly flustered, but managed to recover before anyone noticed. She placed her right hand on the doorknob and leaned into it pleasantly and said, "I just wanted to let you know that I had a husband that didn't get to bed until this morning and three exhausted boys on my living room floor when I left for work. I just expect you'll be having a few visitors and I wanted to give you fair warning."

Dumbledore's eyes gleamed in understanding and amusement, and he winked at Lily, who took it as dismissal, grinned and shut the door behind her. She began to head down the stairs when Professor McGonogall came out of the office. Lily waited for the older woman to catch up before resuming her walk towards her classroom.

"They're upset," McGonogall began without preamble.

"They're concerned," Lily replied tactfully.

McGonogall gave Lily a look that showed she caught the understatement.

"Okay," Lily responded truthfully, "I haven't seen James this mad...ever. And I agree with him. I trust James' judgement almost as much as I distrust Snape."

"I understand," the older woman replied. She patted Lily on the arm and they sat off in different directions toward their respective classrooms.

McGonogall took her time walking because she was early. And she was surprised upon entry to find the familiar faces of Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Oh boy!

"Hello," Remus greeted. "I hope we're not intruding, but the door was open and we let ourselves in."

Normally the stern professor would find it difficult to let down her little wall of disdain, but for Remus, she just smiled. The boy had a way of looking so innocent. And although his former professor knew perfectly well the atrocities he could cause, she couldn't help but love him.

"We've been up all night listening to Pr–um–James and Sirius rant, and we needed a break," Peter added with a pinched grin.

Professor McGonogall silently assessed the boy, and although he had grown since their last meeting, it had not been an upward expansion. Unlike the other boys, he was not a frequent visitor at Hogwarts.

James and Sirius were up here every other day it seemed, the help the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the one they'd been members of just a few years ago. And Remus made it a point to come as often as he could. But Peter had found school very difficult, and was no doubt relieved to be free of the strain.

"Hello boys," the professor greeted with a terse nod. She had no doubt what the boys had come for, but waited for them to reveal it themselves. "Did you come to see me?"

"There's actually an ulterior motive to our visit," Remus confessed. "We're here to see Dumbledore."

"I see," replied the noncommittal McGonogall.

"Yes," Remus continued with a slight frown, "it seems that one of our former classmates is about to become a working neighbor to you and our dear friend Lily. We just wanted to make sure that our friend would be receiving the same treatment from the new addition that you yourself would expect."

She just waited.

"It would be a great deal of assurance to ourselves and a certain Mr. Potter if you would keep your eyes and ears open," Remus prompted. "Lily's rather independent and we fear that she might not fully realize the possible threats."

"Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew," McGonogall responded firmly, "I assure you that the threats you presume to expect are not an issue at this time, and should they become so, James Potter would be the first to know."

She was touched by their concern for Lily.

"That is all we request," Remus bowed his head slightly, right hand firmly on his chest in thanks. "Thank you for the kind re-emphasis of the safety measures the school has always taken to protect its students and its faculty."

And with that incredibly rehearsed speech, the boys exited the room, grinning at their performance.

The conversation left Professor McGonogall's head in a whirl. Surely the boys didn't feel any real threat in Snape. Dumbledore wouldn't put anyone at serious risk.

What scared her was that she found herself questioning.


	5. Chapter 5

James and Sirius left Remus and Peter to talk to McGonogall on their behalf, and had headed up to see Dumbledore. It would be easier with just the two of them.

They quietly strode down the familiar halls towards the headmaster's office. When they reached the door, it opened and Dumbledore greeted them warmly. They went into the office, took a seat and got comfortable. Dumbledore smiled. The number of times that the boys had been in his office was many, but few were voluntary visits. Dumbledore nodded towards a large jar of sweets and waited, but the guys were uninterested.

After they had refused candy, indicating to Dumbledore that they were incredibly upset, they began the meeting.

James was the first to speak.

"Let's begin by saying that both Sirius and I trust your judgement completely. But...What the hell..."

"We realize that we have no right to question your decisions," Sirius cut in, trying to keep his friend from losing his temper before even discussing the matter, "but we are concerned with the amount of trust you are putting in such an unreliable person as Snape, whom we both assumed was an endorsing member of a dark and dangerous circle of friends."

"Gentlemen," Dumbledore addressed them, as Sirius put a calming hand on James' shoulder, "trust me when I say that no small amount of thought was placed into the arrangement, not too much and not too little."

"What about Lily?" James interrupted quietly.

Dumbledore paused and took note of the guys' appearance. Sirius and James seemed for a moment to have switched personalities. Sirius was sitting calmly with the demeanor of having everything under control, acting the part of a loyal friend to his uncharacteristically frazzled counterpart.

"She'll be safe," Dumbledore promised solemnly.

James bit his lip. "Swear it."

"I swear it, James," Dumbledore promised.

"Well," James resigned, regaining some of his usual poise, "I trust you to protect the most important person in my life."

Sirius nodded his agreement.

Dumbledore was moved by their concern for Lily, but concluded the potentially awkward conversation and proceeded to ask the guys how "their" Quidditch team was doing. This concluded the somber attitude from the young men's presence.

James and Sirius had been Quidditch players, and James had gone on to play professionally after Hogwarts. Sirius had gone with him and worked as a trainer for the team, after a fight with his cousin during a game in fifth year had prevented him from playing himself. Even after his ban was lifted, he had been unable to prepare for the professional level James had reached through uninterrupted training and encouragement from his dad, who had also played professionally.

James was incredibly disciplined and ambitious, always working to get what he wanted. Sirius was more driven by whims.

But this only made them more involved in "their" Gryffindor house team. The conversation continued for a few minutes, but was halted when an owl flew through the window.

Distractedly, the boys were dismissed from Dumbledore's office, leaving the headmaster to attend to his business.

The guys found themselves walking down the hall towards the exit that led to the Quidditch pitch to check up on things.

As they rounded the corner toward the Great Hell, the guys locked eyes for a split second, and then they set off in a dead sprint, just as they had done countless times before.

James and Sirius had never respected the rule of no running in the halls during their years as students, and found no need to respect it now. They barreled down the hall, laughing and racing just as a mob of teachers decided to exit the Great Hall to head off to their first period classes.

The scene before the older teachers was oddly familiar and they couldn't help but smile. Hogwarts' favorite boys were racing competitively down the hall toward the doors, laughing maniacally. A certain pretty redhead was frowning disdainfully at the action, with her hands placed firmly on her hips. And a certain hooked nosed man wore a sneer at the immature spectacle.

Just as the teachers were reminiscing, a group of older students came out of the Great Hall, also recognizing the scene.

"Go Potter!" or "Get him Black!" resounded from the group around the hall. James and Sirius picked up speed, enjoying their audience.

And then the teachers seemed to come to their senses, "Potter! Black!" came the voices of professors everywhere, and the two oblivious boys tried to stop so fast at the noisy rebuke that they both fell, causing a roar of laughter from the students.

As James rubbed the back of his head, the guys caused even more laughter with their commentary.

"New school record!" James exclaimed.

"Another one?" Sirius asked.

"The most detentions attained two years after graduation!" James responded.

"Rightfully earned, I'll say," Sirius ventured in his nonchalant, laughing voice.

The professors were unsure of how to respond to the two grown men making such a spectacle, but were saved from dealing with the situation when an adversary of the two stomped through the scene in a huff.

James and Sirius were immediately sobered and rose to face the man. But Snape muttered a few choice words, sneered and swept down the corridor.

James and Sirius exchanged enraged glared and both turned irate eyes towards their enemy's direction. The crowd seemed to hold a collective breath to see what the guys would do.

But Lily, in her typical way, took control of the situation. She pushed through the crowd and grabbed an elbow of each man, turning them down the hallway and towards her classroom.

They needed to have a talk.


	6. Chapter 6

1Lily let go of both of their arms only after they had safely entered the classroom, where students were beginning to congregate.

"Crap!" Lily exclaimed, causing many students to look up in surprise. Lily's little talk would have to wait. She had a class. Unlucky for Lily, her class was full of seventh years, who all made their way towards James and Sirius when they noticed whom it was.

Lily had always thought that she got a lot of respect from the kids, respect that most new teachers wouldn't have, simply because she was married to James Potter. But the casual approval she had was nothing compared to the reverence James and Sirius received. Everyone wanted to talk to them.

"James, Sirius," Lily interrupted firmly, "I have a class and we can't talk right now, so if you'd like to meet up with me a little later for lunch, that'd be great."

Lily had meant to dismiss her husband and his friend from the class, and both Sirius and James gave her a hug as if they were leaving. But after their apparent farewell, the guys continued talking to their attentive audience.

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of class.

"Excuse me," Lily tried to forcibly lift James from the desk on which he was sitting. "I have a class, and I don't want to compete with you for their attention."

"Ha ha," James taunted quietly, reaching up and kissing her, "That's 'cause you know you'd lose!"

"You're going to pay for that one, mate," Sirius predicted, just as Lily swatted James upside the head.

Lily turned expectant eyes on Sirius.

"Well I for one think that you are much more entertaining and significantly easier on the eyes that James," Sirius casually flirted, winking.

"Come on guys!" Lily begged.

James got to his feet and pulled Lily away from the crowd. He leaned into her ear and whispered something. Lily smiled and pulled away.

"Only if you leave right now," she conditioned.

James' lopsided grin was so huge that it took up his whole face. He walked towards the door, grabbing Sirius on his way, muttering, "We have to leave now," in an incredibly distracted voice. Sirius glanced bemusedly from James to Lily.

"Hey! If he's going to be bribed to leave, I want something, too."

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Lily glared.

"Pumpkin Pie?" Sirius requested, ignoring her testiness.

Lily nodded.

"Tonight?" Sirius questioned.

Lily nodded.

"And tomorrow?" Sirius asked.

"You're pushing it," she warned, nudging them towards the door.

"Goodbye!" Sirius waved jovially as James quickly kissed Lily.

Lily placed her big comfy pillow on top of the desk and climbed up onto it, tucked her feet underneath her and began her lecture.


	7. Chapter 7

1Peter and Remus had no idea where to go after they left Professor McGonogall's classroom, so they wandered aimlessly around the hallways for a while, reminiscing. The two of them found a lot more leisure time on their hands when James and Sirius were occupied elsewhere.

After a while, they heard the sounding of the bell, signaling classes. A wave of students rushed past them, scrambling to beat the tardy bell and avoid detention. The boys were almost sure that Sirius and James were finished with their meeting with Dumbledore and would be with Lily, so they headed towards her classroom.

Peter knocked slightly, and when no response came, they walked quietly in. Remus immediately recognized the class as advanced charms and noted that the class was quite small, which was expected because by now the students were concentrating on the specific subjects that would help them in their professions of choice next year.

Lily, they noticed, was sitting on a pillow on top of her desk, reading over a student's work, completely engrossed. The rest of the class was hard at work on an assignment.

Remus, who had been friends with Lily for a very long time, both of them having been meticulous students during their school years, had seen the look on Lily's face many times before. The look that said she was so encompassed in her work she wouldn't hear a bomb drop. He smiled and went to take a seat near the back of the class. Peter followed suit.

A small bell chimed and a vibration came from Lily's watch. She reached down and turned it off, but didn't change the activities of the class.

The class looked at her as if they were expecting something. Eventually a young man got up, walked over to Lily and pushed the paper out of her eyes. He received a dumbstruck stare. Then Lily gasped in remembrance.

She handed the work to a Ravenclaw student that Peter recognized as a second cousin, and assured her that the work was correct.

"Alright," Lily informed the class, her demeanor significantly changed, "Thirty minutes left in class; speed talk because I want to hear everything!"

Lily smiled and inclined her head girlishly, clapping her hands. Her long curly hair gave her an appearance of innocence, and Remus stiffened at the wistful stares most of the young men were shooting at his friend's wife.

All of the students smiled brightly and stood up. They pushed their desks out to the side of the room, and retrieved many pillows like the one on which Lily sat from a closet in the back of the room. The students sat the pillows in the middle of the room and collapsed onto them. Lily hopped off her desk, grabbed her pillow and joined her class on the floor.

The students all started talking animatedly to Lily, informing her of the latest happenings: who was going out with whom, and which couples had broken up; what they were doing for Christmas break in two weeks; which house team they believed was going to win the meet tomorrow, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.

Lily was also open with the class. Peter heard her complain to a Gryffindor girl about something James had done. Peter hadn't caught what, as the two were whispering, but the girl had giggles and asked, 'again?'

They were having so much fun that the class took a while clearing out after the bell rang, which was unusual.

Only after the class was gone did Lily notice Remus and Peter.

"How long have you guys been here?" Lily asked, astonished and embarrassed.

"Long enough," Peter replied teasingly, "to learn that your class is just a large party zone." Peter snapped his fingers and danced to inaudible music, his extensive girth wobbling.

Lily punched him softly in the arm. "Only sixth and seventh years get free time, you nosy, judgmental, guttersnipe. And you guys aren't going to tell anyone about this. This class is so difficult that they need a break every once in a while, even if it is against the rules."

"Uh-huh," Remus commented sarcastically. "I think James has had a bad influence on her."

"Shut up!" Lily commanded teasingly. "I had to practically bribe James and Sirius to leave the classroom. Seriously, when did you come in?"

"A couple of minutes before your watch went off," Remus replied, caving under the pressure of her stare.

"If I'd known you were giving out bribes for our disappearance, I'd have left," Peter piped in.

"Pumpkin pie tonight," Lily responded. "Feel free to join us. Now if it's James and Sirius you're looking for, I expect they're down at the Quidditch pitch, but they're supposed to join me for lunch in a few minutes. The five of us need to have a talk."

At their confused looks, Lily filled them in on the events that had occurred earlier.

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	8. Chapter 8

1James and Sirius had ample time to accomplish something productive before their lunch with Lily, but they chose to indulge in a much deserved day off. Both had no obligations until their evening practice session, since their Quidditch team had competed in and won a tournament the week prior, and they didn't have a match for a week and a half.

Both Sirius and James were a little put out by the fact that they weren't getting any information on why their enemy had been entrusted with a position at Hogwarts, and they were tired from a sleepless night. They decided to bypass the Quidditch pitch in their fatigue, and they made their way onto the grounds, and sat under a tree beside the lake.

They sat in silence wearing incredibly serious looks that their old professors would have sworn were impossible for the two, and thought.

Sirius' mind wandered to Snape. Sirius had always assumed that Snape was evil, and it unnerved him that he may be wrong, but it unnerved him even more that he might be right.

Sirius' own parents were openly supportive of the shifty group bent on removing "unworthy" people from their midst, and Sirius had spent his whole life avoiding and separating himself from people like that.

It'd been easy enough to get along with them in his earlier years: he was always such a carefree boy and his family just assumed he'd grow into their loyalties. But when finally pressured into telling what he truly thought, he'd been disowned. He hated his family just as they hated him. He'd even gone to school with his younger brother, who was now a sixth year, for years without speaking to him.

The weather was unusually warm for December, and the guys decided to take advantage of the unfrozen lake. While Sirius thought, he began throwing stoned into the lake, and before he knew it, all of the stones around him were gone.

"Toss me some rocks, Prongs?" he requested of James.

There was no reply, and when Sirius glanced at James, he was surprised to see that James had fallen asleep.

"Lucky chap!" he muttered, yawning.

Sirius stood, knowing that they couldn't fall asleep and miss lunch. He was starving, and tempted to go to the kitchens and get something to eat. But he didn't want to leave James, and he knew Lily was expecting them to eat with her. So he paced back and forth on the lakeshore.

Sirius was just about to wake James and head back to the castle, when he saw Severus Snape exit through the main doors and head toward the lake where James and Sirius were.

Sirius was sure that Snape didn't see them, or he wouldn't have come this far. Snape had never been one to openly seek the company of his enemies, especially ones who had embarrassed him so many times in front of his peers, among other things.

Snape was actually headed outside to think. The lake was good for that. He was in a lot of danger, being in the situation that he was in. He would be acting as a spy, a dangerous job, but his penance for getting mixed up in the wrong group of friends.

That was the ultimatum Dumbledore had given him, and he wouldn't refuse the man that had given him his life back. He was actually relieved at finally coming clean to someone, and was anxious to prove himself worthy of the trust that he had undeservingly been granted with.

That's what had discouraged him. He'd only been here a day; hadn't even begun teaching when he'd run into Potter and Black again, and had been unable to hold his tongue. They'd been the reason he lost his temper earlier, and they could very well cost him his job.

Those boys were why Snape had been prideful and taken so long to come clean; Snape didn't want to admit that they'd been right. He hated them. They were such unbearable torments, getting away with everything save murder. Snape never would understand why people loved them so much.

Of course he'd expected to run into some of his old classmates; he knew that Lily worked at Hogwarts and had even welcomed her company, assuming that she would forgive his poor judgment and accept him as a friend even with his sketchy background. She'd never been judgmental. What he had forgotten was that Lily had married that insufferable Potter. A stupid thing to forget, as he'd been forced by his status to attend the large event.

He had tried to ignore the marriage through his pretense of disinterest. If he had remembered, he wouldn't have agreed to work at Hogwarts, putting himself on a day to day basis with someone he detested so much.

Snape glanced up and was surprised to see Sirius Black standing just a few feet away, glaring. Sirius' family and his family were quite close. In their younger years, they'd actually spent summers with each other, though they were never attached. But when they'd started school, and Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor, their casual friendship had ended.

Sirius had been an oddity in his family and was treated badly at home. Although he was a family outcast, he had been popular at school; well received as a handsome, careless wise-guy with physical and intellectual talent. Snape would never admit, even to himself, that he envied Sirius.

Snape saw his enemy look down at James' sleeping form, and expected him to wake James up. Sirius considered it for a minute, and decided against it. He wanted to talk to Snape alone. Finally, Sirius looked up.

"I'm going to say this once,"Sirius said through clenched teeth, "I have no idea what you think you're doing, but you'd better not cross the line. Don't go near Lily and don't try anything funny. Yu may have fooled Dumbledore, but I know who and what you are, and I'm watching you."

Snape held his tongue. He didn't want to lose control again: Sirius Black wasn't worht that.

"You'd better get out of here before I decide to wake James up," Sirius warned, "because right now, he wants to kill you."

Snape was torn. He didn't want to take that abuse from Sirius, but there was no way he could take on Sirius and James together. It was arguable whether he could take on just one. And he didn't want to prove himself unreliable to Dumbledore. In the end, good sense won out. He silently turned and walked back to the castle, breathing deeply in an effort to calm himself.


	9. Chapter 9

1Remus and Peter never found out why Sirius had looked so mad when he entered the Great Hall for lunch, because the look was gone by the time he had reached the table, replaced by his normal, snickering facial expression. James had gone unnoticed by the two boys because of their study of Sirius, but when they heard Lily's soft giggle, they glanced and James.

James was wet from head to toe, and covered in mud, trying not to look too happy about his predicament. If he seemed too happy, Remus might go into a spill about how James enjoyed being childish, which was true, but he didn't want to hear about it. A few years ago, Lily would have probably lectured him, but that was only because she had disapproved of him then. She was now more easygoing.

"What happened, mate?" Peter asked, chuckling.

At the question, Sirius burst into uncontrollable laughter. James gave him a playfully hurt look, while the rest of the people in the hall began to shoot curious stares at the boys.

"He..." Sirius began, but interrupted himself with a fresh burst of laughter.

"Shut up!" James commanded, whacking Sirius on the back and getting mud on his friend's clean clothes. "I fell asleep and rolled into the lake," James explained, eyes downcast in a fake pout, "and my useless friend, Sirius," he continued, voice getting louder as he shot an accusing glare at Sirius, "couldn't prevent it! He couldn't even pull me up on a grassy area. He had to choose the muddiest path, and clothe me in earth, while remaining incredibly clean himself."

James paused in his explanation, eyes narrowing in inspiration. James wiped an invisible, fake tear from his eye and declared, "But I still love you!" With this, James made an exaggerated lunge at Sirius, who had no choice but to grab James to keep them both from falling over. When James regained his own balance and stepped back, Sirius was covered in mud. James smiled.

"You deserved that," he informed Sirius.

Sirius just laughed.

"Well," Lily interrupted, "Why don't y'all get someone to take you up to Gryffindor Tower, so you can shower and clean up."

"But you'd better hurry," Peter chimed in, "because I'm hungry and I want to get this 'important conversation' out of the way."

"Well," Lily suggested, "if y'all just want to hear me out for a minute, we can do that first."

James looked around and grinned. They were receiving many stares and people were whispering.

"What do you want, Hun?" James asked, not wanting to take a shower at Hogwarts.

"I just want us all to be careful," she said. "There's enough tension going on without adding to it."

The guys clearly didn't understand what she was trying to say.

"Okay," she said lowering her voice and looking directly at James and Sirius, "that display you guys put on this morning was unacceptable. Dumbledore had chosen to trust Snape, and I think he deserves a chance to change. Obviously, you guys aren't helping that, so maybe y'all should avoid Hogwarts for a while, or at least avoid Snape. That'd help. I'm afraid that he'll have a hard enough time working with me without constantly being reminded that I'm married to you, James."

The decision to trust had been hard for Lily, and she still wasn't sure it was wise, but she didn't have a choice.

"Why don't y'all head on home," Lily suggested. She gave Remus and Peter hugs, merely waving at the muddier two, and headed back to her classroom. She had no idea that the magnificent ears of Severus Snape had heard every word that she said.


	10. Chapter 10

1Lily's day had been long. She wasn't even sure that she wanted to head home, knowing that tiring tasks awaited her.

She was just about to pack up and head off when an unexpected knock made her heart leap. She waited a moment, recovering, and was about to answer when a small girl burst into the room.

"Karen!" Lily smiled brightly.

The girl ran into the room and gushed excitedly, "I'm _so _glad I caught you in time! I thought you'd have gone already, and I _promised _Mom that I would pass a message on to you and Jamie before today, and I saw him up here earlier, but I just _forgot_! Actually, I saw you a couple of times today, too, but I forgot _again_! I know she'd just _kill _me if I missed you, and my chances of having a friend on vacation with me would be _ruined_! I don't know if I could _stand _another Christmas with just Mom, Dad and Shelby. Since Jamie moved out it's just been _terrible_! I'm left all to myself with Mom and Shelby _constantly _when Dad is away. Jamie used to make it _fun_! I'm not saying that Mom is a _bad _person, just a little on the _dull _side. No offense, but you _really _did me wrong in taking my brother. It's always great to be at school and get _away_!

She took a breath, and Lily shook her head, trying to sort out the random bursts of energy from the emotional thirteen-year-old.

"Wow," Lily finally grinned, pulling her small sister-in-law into a hug. "How long have you been waiting to dump all of that?"

"Oh," Karen grinned sheepishly. "Well..."

"Don't worry," Lily assured her, "That's what sisters are for."

And with that, Lily flipped Karen's long black hair into the girl's face. Karen had beautiful hair, unlike her brother. But things in the gene pool had evened out. James was a Quidditch star, and Karen could barely walk without tripping, although her clumsiness was delightfully charming on the exuberant girl.

"Well, in _that _case," Karen took a seat on Lily's desk, "I have something I need to talk about."

'Oh, no,' Lily thought.

"Do you remember when Jamie was in second year and Dad bought him his _own owl_?" Lily nodded, though she didn't remember the instance. Lily had spent second year successfully ignoring James. "Well, Mom and Dad decided that _I'm _not old enough for one, and I'm in _third year_! I'd been expecting one for Christmas and _apparently _I don't get one!" she ended exasperatedly.

With this she folded her arms across her chest and made a pouting face that reminded Lily intensely of James when he didn't get his way. Lily suppressed a giggle, and leaned in conspiratorially, "What if I talk to mom about letting James and me get you one for Christmas?"

"That would be awesome!" Karen hugged Lily tightly, then hopped off the desk, waved goodbye and disappeared out the door.

"Karen!" Lily called after her.

Karen's head popped back into the classroom.

"Darling," Lily teased, "Aren't we forgetting something?"

"_Oh_!" Karen slapped her hand across her face. "They need a babysitter for Shelby for a few days. Bye, Lily!"

"Are they staying for dinner?" Lily asked quickly, before Karen was out of earshot.

"_Prob'ly_," the girl yelled from down the hall.

And with that, Karen was gone, leaving Lily with her mouth hanging open. She was glad Karen had remembered to tell her.

Why hadn't Theresa just owled her?


	11. Chapter 11

1Lily snapped her brief case smartly and hurried out of the classroom in flustered distraction. She'd have a lot to do before the evening and she'd need to stop by her in-laws and have a chat with Theresa to confirm the plans with Shelby and confirm the plans for dinner before stopping to pick up food.

On her way down the hall, she began to mentally prepare dinner. She'd originally hoped to just throw some sandwiches together for James and the boys, but she was sure her mother-in-law's judging nature would make sandwiches a bad idea.

She was going to have to stop by the grocery store anyways, to pick up some stuff to make pies. But her grocery list had just grown exponentially.

She sighed at her expanded to-do list, and turned the corner, running smack dab into Severus Snape and knocking his crate full of liquid filled bottles all over the hallway.

Lily's hand slapped over her face.

"I'm so sorry, "she groaned. "I was just in a hurry and I wasn't watching..."

She knelt and began consolidating the spilled liquids.

"It's quite alright," Snape responded coldly.

"No it's not," she insisted. "Let me get this stuff cleaned up and into your classroom."

"I believe it would be easier if I just transferred the mess to the dungeons and cleaned it up there and began re-brewing the potions for my class Monday," Snape stated firmly.

"No sir," Lily responded, equally determined to take this chance to reach out to her colleague. "I caused this mess and I'm going to help you straighten it up. I know from experience that this potion will take two hours to brew. I'll help."

"I thought you were in a hurry?" Snape questioned.

"Oh, it's okay. I'll just have James do it," She smiled at him, knowing that giving James extra work would make Snape happy.

"If you can spare the time," Snape conceded, surprising Lily by returning her smile. He was touched by her willingness to help, and remembered the conversation she'd had earlier with the guys. This may be his chance to prove himself.

"Okay," she sighed. "I just need to talk to James. May I use your fireplace?"

Severus nodded his approval and told her to go on down there and call James. He'd be along in a minute with the mess for them to straighten out.

As Lily retreated down the hall, Snape couldn't help but notice the butterflies in his stomach. He was going to spend two hours alone with Lily Evans–er–Potter. Not only was she gorgeous smart and intimidating, she was married to a man he detested, and he should hate her. All of this confused Snape and he was incredibly distracted as he made his way down to the dungeons.

When he got to his classroom, he found Lily and James standing in front of the classroom, discussing their situation. James looked like he'd just gotten out of the shower. He was wearing only athletic shorts and an indignant expression.

"So he's _making _you help him?" James accused.

"No, baby," Lily contradicted softly.

James started to protest, but Lily interrupted him.

"I'm doing it out of the kindness of my heart...and because it's my fault. But I need you to get ready for tonight," Lily rubbed her cold hands across James' chest and moved in closer to his body, distracting him from the large workload she was giving him. He closed his eyes and enjoyed his wife's teasing touch. At that moment, James would have promised Lily anything.

He grinned and she knew she'd won.

"Now, I know you're tired from Quidditch practice," she condoned, running her hand through his hair and making him smile. "But I need you to run by your parents' house and make sure that Karen wasn't mistaken in saying that they're coming tonight. Then I need you to give this note to your mom for me," she paused and gave him a quickly scribbled note which he quickly opened and read.

"An owl?" James questioned.

"That's what she wants," Lily assured, giving him a reproachful look for invading her privacy without her permission. She was going to clear the gift with James first, but he should have asked.

"Anyways, I need you to run to the grocery store and pick up this food," she handed him another note with her grocery list. "And this time, don't take Sirius. You guys always alter my lists, and we can't afford that tonight. Then I need you to get the message out to the guys that we're going to have to postpone our dessert party. Give this note to Sirius for me."

Another note was handed over. James read it and sniggered slightly.

"He's not going to like this," James exclaimed.

"I know," Lily sighed, "but what else can we do?"

"Let's have the guys over anyways," James requested pleadingly. He then squeezed her hand and lowered his head so they were eye-level. "Please? I just can't deal with my parents tonight."

"Okay," she conceded, knowing the fights James and his dad had been having of late. James crumpled the note to Sirius and threw it triumphantly to Lily, who caught it and tossed it into the trash can. "But if they come, I expect Sirius, Peter and you to clean while Remus cooks. And no switching assignments. Remus cooks. Peter can assist him, and you two hopeless idiots can clean," she added with a teasing grin.

"Okay," James whispered hoarsely as he kissed her hand and pulled her into a hug. "Now if you're going to give Sirius his dessert tonight, then I still want mine."

Lily giggled and nodded, making James' face light up. Snape cringed at the idea of what he might be talking about. James didn't deserve Lily.

"I love you," James said into her hair.

"I love you, too," Lily responded, hugging him tighter as she reached up to kiss his jaw. Again Snape recoiled. Why had she stopped hating him.

James released Lily and turned to go. Lily watched him with a goofy look, her pretty mouth forming a grin. Snape was sure that she was in love. He wasn't quite sure whether James was in love, or just viewed her as something he'd been denied for years but had finally won in the end.

"James?" she called, and he turned expectantly to her. "Get dressed first?"

He smiled is promise and then was gone. She grinned and rolled her eyes.

Snape watched the exchange and after James left, he walked into the room. He felt guilty for having eavesdropped and mad that such a horrible person could have someone who loved him, while Snape had nobody.


	12. Chapter 12

1It was probably the stupidest thing he'd ever done. How could he have accepted Lily's offer to join her and James at their Christmas party? When Lily and Snape had finished brewing the potions, she'd politely extended the invitation and then left. He must have been delirious when he accepted. At least the date wasn't that night. It wasn't until next Friday, and that gave him plenty of time to back out.

Snape was set to have a meeting with Dumbledore and McGonogall in a few minutes. He'd be starting to teach Monday and they needed to work things out.

He knocked and entered the headmaster's office right on time, but this time it was Snape interrupting a meeting.

He ran into none other than Mr. Potter and Shelby, James' dad and baby sister.

"Just a moment, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore requested, and Snape apologetically stepped out of the office. Outside he ran into none other than Lily Potter, again! He just couldn't catch a break.

"Excuse me, Severus," she gently pushed past him and into Dumbledore's office. When she entered, she left the door standing wide open behind her, allowing Snape an inconspicuous view.

"Lily!" Mr. Potter greeted. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. I was really in a bind."

"No problem, Dad," she sighed and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek as she lifted the three year old Shelby into her arms.

"Theresa's been at her mother's this week, and..." Lily motioned towards Dumbledore and Lily understood.

Jonathan worked was head of training for the Aurors, and it seemed that he and Dumbledore had some business for the night. Karen hadn't gotten the information right after all.

Lily had come back up to the school after arriving home and finding that her in-laws weren't coming. James said that his dad was taking Shelby up to Hogwarts to leave her with Lily after a meeting with Dumbledore.

James had offered to go for Shelby, but Lily noticed his stiffness and took pity on him. James' team had been training hard for a while, and despite his small break, Lily had noticed the knots in his muscles lately.

"I'll be back in an hour," Jonathan told Dumbledore. He reached down to hug Shelby. "Now Shelby, you're going to go and stay with Lily for a while, okay?"

"Jamie?" Shelby asked excitedly. Jonathan nodded and Shelby screeched in excitement.

"I love you, baby," he told her and kissed her little cheek. "And I love you, Lily," he said as he squeezed her into a hug. Lily locked eyes with Jonathan. "Tell James I'm proud of him," Jonathan whispered.

Lily began to get chills as she realized how dangerous the job would be for Jonathan. She also noted that James and his dad must have had another fight if he was asking her to relay messages to his son, whom he'd seen earlier that same day.

She nodded and followed Jonathan out of the office.

Dumbledore sighed heavily.

"Come on in, Mr. Snape," he invited in a tired voice. As he was taking a seat, Professor mcGonogall entered.

"Please excuse my tardiness," she nodded curtly.

"That's quite alright, Professor," Dumbledore smiled.

The meeting went on quite routinely. Dumbledore asked of any news that Snape might have picked up that would be of any use to the good cause, and reminded him to keep his ears open.

Then Dumbledore gave him his teaching schedule. He glanced at it briefly and noticed that he had third years first thing Monday morning, Gryffindor and Slytherin; goody. He sighed heavily and was dismissed.


	13. Chapter 13

1Shelby chatted excitedly as Lily put together the pumpkin pies. James sat quietly, holding his baby sister in his lap. Lily could tell he wasn't completely there, and she allowed him the time to think.

After making the pies, Lily pulled out some cookie dough so that Shelby could help. The small girl seemed more interested in eating the dough than placing it neatly on the pan, as Lily demonstrated. James quietly retreated to his study.

Lily was torn between wanting to seek him out and wanting to give him his space. But she was spared the decision as Shelby desperately needed a bath.

Shelby got a bath, then Lily read her a book, and fed her a cookie before bedtime. Shelby put up a major fuss at the prospect.

Lily's hair was frizzy, her eyes were droopy and her feet felt like lead by the time she got the fussy toddler to settle down. She didn't want to entertain, she didn't want to have a long talk with her husband. She didn't want to clean up her cooking mess. And James would definitely be handling bedtime next time!

Luckily, James had served his friends, and only Sirius was hanging around when she emerged from the guest bedroom. Lily welcomed this as the guys were having a heart-to heart talk as they washed her dishes. Thank goodness!

She slipped back into her bedroom and changed into sweats. She grabbed a book and sat down by the fireplace in the den. She was trying to read, but she kept hearing the conversation that was going on in the kitchen.

"...without even considering his family! It's not about me anymore, Sirius. Shelby...Karen...Mom. It's wrong that he's doing this. He doesn't need the money and there are plenty of young guys that'd be willing to do it!"

"This isn't about them, James, and you know it. You don't like that he's involved in factors that you can't control. You're scared James. I understand. But you can't snap at him like that. He's doing it for you, for your mom and for your sisters..."

Lily got up and left. She'd made a pact with herself not to intrude on James' privacy with his friends. And she didn't have the energy to stress at the moment. There were some things that James could only share with Sirius, and she had realized that long before she started dating him.

She tried to read in her room, but her mind kept wandering. After about an hour, she founf herself in the kitchen with James. Apparently Sirius had left.

"Hey, babe," he sleepily smiled.

She scooted herself up on the counter top and grinned at him.

"I know you heard that," James whispered.

"I figured something was going on with you and your dad," she admitted.

"I should talk to him, and I definitely shouldn't have yelled at him, but..."James trailed off.

She gently took his hand, "Too much. Let's talk tomorrow."

He sighed heavily and nodded. Then inspiration struck. He leaned toward her and kissed her sweetly, "Let's go to bed."

And Lily knew that look in his eyes. He dragged her grinning out of the kitchen.


	14. Chapter 14

1James' eyes opened wide. His sleeping wife was digging her fingers into his side. She cried out in her sleep, and he pulled her protectively towards his body, now fully awake. He gently shushed her, stroking her hair with one hand as he grasped her hand with the other.

Lily opened her eyes slowly, the tears rolling down her cheeks. She desperately snuggled closer to James.

"I don't want to lose you," Lily whispered.

It wrenched his heart to see his strong wife so vulnerable and unsure, but he was confident in his assurances that she'd be okay. She'd had bad dreams a lot lately, and he kept assuring her that even if something did happen to him, his three friends would take care of her. They cared about her almost as much as he did, and he was sure that they'd do anything for her, as they'd do for him. He wasn't worried.

She's been incredibly emotional lately.

"I promise," he fervently whispered as he rocked her back and forth. "I'll always be here, baby...I've got you...You're safe here."

"I'm sorry," Lily mumbled after a while. "I just got scared."

He didn't ever want her to be sorry for needing him. He hugged her to his chest.

After a while, James felt her steady breathing and assumed she'd fallen asleep. He rested his head against the headboard and shakily let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. This couldn't all be happening to him.

James didn't like Lily to be scared, because it was all he could do not to be scared himself. Too much stress wasn't good for his sleeping habits; he definitely wouldn't be sleeping again.

James was stressed most about his dad. The guy just wouldn't listen to him about retiring. He was always so stubborn. James hadn't meant to yell at his dad, he didn't want to disrespect him. But the way that his dad risked his life all of the time was more than James could take.

He'd tried to talk to Sirius about it, but for once, Sirius hadn't understood.

Lily watched the muscles of James' jaw clench and unclench.

"It was just a dream," she whispered, startling him.

"It's not just that," he whispered angrily, then looked at her apologetically. He didn't mean to take it out on her.

"I know," he assured. "He'll be fine, James."

Lily stroked his head and felt him relax a bit. She knew he didn't want to talk about it. Whenever his dad was in danger, James reminded Lily of a little boy, trying to be tough while immensely scared inside.

So she did the only thing she knew to do, she ran her fingers through his hair and allowed him to hold her. He was such a great husband, but she knew that in some ways he'd never grow up.

"You know it's more than my dad, Lily," James quietly assured her. "I don't know who to trust anymore, and I can't grasp the idea of you working with Snape."

"James," Lily sighed, "please don't think about it."

She could sense his worry, but he was calming down a little bit.

"You should go back to sleep," he told her after a long while of silence.

"I'm okay," she told him concernedly. He kissed her forehead thankfully.

After a while, James leaned over his wife. He kissed her gently on the mouth, stroking her cheek.

He felt her smile against his lips, so he deepened the kiss.

She loved that her husband was so passionate about things, but his constantly fluctuating emotions were confusing her. Usually James was semi-rational.

He pulled away from her slightly and searched her eyes, "I love you."

"Why?" she asked hesitantly, slightly out of breath.

Without answering, he kissed her again, sending chills up and down her spine. She pulled closer to him.


	15. Chapter 15

1Not today! Surely there wasn't a faculty party today! Christmas wasn't for another two weeks. The students hadn't even left yet. What was it with this annoyance of a holiday that demanded festive celebration?

Why was he even required to go? He wasn't technically a teacher yet. Classes for him started on Monday.

He just wouldn't go. That was the perfect solution. Nobody would make him, would they? Why would anyone possibly care whether he went or not.

Just as he made his decision, a knock came at his office door. He was brewing a particularly difficult potion and feeling sorry for himself. He just didn't want company. But there were a lot of things in his life that he didn't want.

"Come in," Snape stated flatly.

Professor Dumbledore entered with a huge smile.

"Good morning, Severus," he cheerily greeted.

"Headmaster," Snape addressed him. "What can I do for you?"

"I was just coming to remind you about the dance that will be going on tonight. Formal attire, please, in the Great Hall," Dumbledore explained. "The house elves will have the place decorated just for the event!"

"Actually, Headmaster," Snape began, "I was considering retiring early tonight. I have a lot to get done, and I will undoubtedly be tired."

"Don't even think of it!" Dumbledore instructed. "We'll want our new potions master at the Hogwarts event of the year!"

"Shouldn't someone be keeping an eye on the students?" Snape asked weakly. He hadn't realized that he'd rather babysit than attend the party.

"That's a very kind offer, Severus," Dumbledore countered. "But the students will be 'nestled all snug in their beds'," he quoted.

It didn't look good for Snape. There was no dissuading his employer.

"I will see you tonight, Headmaster," he reluctantly agreed.

"Marvelous, Severus," Dumbledore beamed. "I'll see you tonight!"

Snape felt he deserved a good kick in the rear end.


	16. Chapter 16

1Lily slept longer than she had intended. James was headed out of the door for his morning practice by the time she awakened.

Shelby had been fed and was momentarily occupied with a baby doll.

"Dad'll pick her up in about an hour. I'll be back by noon," James lazily recounted. He was usually okay on little sleep, but not today.

"Okay," Lily commented as she placed some energy bars into James' pack. "Don't forget we have to go up to Hogwarts tonight."

James nodded and headed out the door.

Jonathan arrived just after James left. He sported a bandaged arm.

"Sorry I'm a little early," Jonathan apologized, "but I got off sooner than I'd expected. I had hoped I could have a quick talk with James before I headed back?"

"He's already left for practice," Lily apologized.

Jonathan nodded but looked disappointed.

"I'll tell him you want to talk," Lily offered as she gathered the rest of Shelby's things. She handed the bag to the suddenly old looking man and timidly regarded him.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

Jonathan smiled, "Nothing for you to worry about. Just some old family stuff...I'll probably need to talk to him tonight. Do y'all have any plans?"

"The Hogwarts faculty Christmas party is tonight," she told him, trying not to allow herself to become offended, "but we won't stay long. James didn't get much sleep last night."

She gave him a significant glance. He ignored it.

"Okay, Shelby. Let's go," he lifted the child onto his shoulders and was gone.

Lily ran to the bedroom and quickly took a shower. Then she dressed warmly and scribbled a note to James.

'I'll be back soon. There are sandwiches in the kitchen. I love you, Lily.'

She sat the note on the bedside table, wrapped her flyaway hair into a scarf, and headed off to see Professor McGonogall. She needed to talk.

"Good Morning," she greeted the woman as she took a seat in the Quidditch stands.

Professor McGonogall smiled at Lily. "Come to watch the match? Where's James?"

"He's at practice. They've got a big match on Christmas, and they've gone to two practices a day," Lily explained. "And actually, I wanted to talk to you, although the match is a bonus."

The old professor looked surprised.

"It's nothing especially bad," Lily sighed. "James is just bugging me."

Lily then proceeded to tall the older woman about James' behavior towards Jonathan. She hated that James was willing to talk to Sirius about everything, but when she asked what was going on, she was told that it was family stuff.

"I am not unable to handle what is going on between James and his dad," Lily fumed.

McGonogall didn't need anymore explanation. "Lily, this is an old feud. James and his dad have the best relationship, except when it comes to Jonathan's work. James hates it, and Jonathan won't retire unless James takes his spot. He doesn't trust anyone else. And James won't work for the Ministry. You know all of this."

"No, I didn't," Lily admitted.

The professor raised her eyebrows.

"Why do they treat me like a second rate family member?" Lily wondered aloud. Then a realization struck her, and she was even more frustrated. Would this worthiness stuff never leave? She knew James hated all of this profiling. For some reason, she found herself mad at Snape.

During her ranting, she had neglected to notice that Professor McGonogall was not alone. Professors Sprout and Binns were with her.

But Lily didn't care anymore. She was too upset. Tears threatened to fall as she turned to watch the match.

The three teachers exchanged glances. The Potters were a truly powerful family, and they made a stir by standing by what was right. But they realized that, quite possibly, Lily was not what they had had in mind for their James.

But James was one of their all time favorite students, and whatever their faults, his parents were good people.

Lily seemed to spot someone in the stands below. She pursed her lips.

"I'm just going to leave," she abruptly stated as she stood.

Professor Sprout looked at her sympathetically, "You should have married Remus, dear."

Lily slightly smiled at the longstanding joke.

The three teachers began to discuss Lily as soon as she was safely out of hearing distance.

"I don't think there's anything to worry about," Professor McGonogall shrugged finally as a tall man took a seat beside her.

"What aren't you worried about?" James asked his former teachers as he chewed on an energy bar. "And where's Lily? I saw her up here and I thought she saw me."

"Maybe you should go and talk to her," Professor Sprout suggested. All three of them looked guiltily at their feet, as if they'd invaded his privacy.

"Okay," he slowly answered, silently questioning them, but none of them would look at him, so he stood up. "It was nice talking to you guys. I'll see y'all tonight."


	17. Chapter 17

1"What do I need to wear?" James bellowed across the house from his point in front of the large closet.

James had just gotten out of the shower, and figured Lily would be in the front of the house somewhere, cleaning or something.

"You don't have to shout!" Lily snapped at him shortly, stepping out of her own large closet on the other side of the room. Her ears were ringing from his loud volume.

"Sorry," James apologized, advancing towards his wife, "didn't see you. You look great."

Lily was decked out in a calf length black dress with no back. She wore very tall heels with straps up her shins. Her hair was up, and curly wisps were everywhere. She also sported her elaborate wedding ring, the one she was too shy to regularly wear and incredibly afraid of losing. It was a Potter family heirloom.

James was practically drooling.

She sidestepped James in obvious exasperation and strode over to his closet. After careful consideration, she selected a deep burgundy shirt, a black tie and gray pants.

She deliberately exited the closet and placed the items on the bed. She then went back to preparing herself.

He shamelessly stripped and dressed in the clothes she'd picked for him.

"What's going on?" James quietly whispered into her ear, entwining his arms around her waist as she was trying to put earrings in.

"Listen, James," she calmly addressed him, "You know that I love you, and that isn't going to change. But sometimes I need space. Tonight at the party, I want you glued to my side. But right now, why don't you go read a book or something?"

He turned abruptly and left, muttering to himself "...seven years of school...never voluntarily read...ignored me...hated me..."


	18. Chapter 18

1With intertwined fingers, the young couple strode into the Great Hall. They were the last people to arrive. James had insisted on it. It was his trademark.

Lily was laughing hard at something James had whispered into her ear, and her brilliant white teeth flashed. She clung to James' arm and the two of them began to mingle.

Snape knew it would happen. He'd hoped for a while that she would be different, but sooner or later, every girl falls for the charms of James Potter.

Snape could not tear his eyes away from her. Those shoes wrapped seductively around her shapely legs. They ended with intrigue below the bottom of her dress, which in Snape's opinion, was too long.

The crowd around her prevented Snape from seeing her face, but he was sure that she was elegantly poised from head to toe.

And just when he was dragging his eyes away from her so as not to be seen staring, James caught his eye. James' jaw was clenched, but he seemed determined to be civil, because he nodded and looked back to his wife.

As the pre-party conversations began drawing to a close, Lily pulled away from James and approached Snape.

"Hey," she cheerily greeted the lone figure. "I'm glad you decided to come."

"Wouldn't have missed it," he forced his non-compliant mouth to speak. But it must not have come out as well as he'd hoped, because she gave him a strange look.

"Well, it's good to see you," she recovered. "We should get seated. I'm starving."

He silently followed her over to the table.

"Now I know that we're all more interested in digging in than hearing an old man ramble, so don't be shy," Dumbledore motioned towards the plates and the faculty sat to a delicious meal around a closely packed table.

Lily sat snugly between James and Professor mcGonogall. Severus sat across from McGonogall.

Lily rested her hand on James' leg. He constantly watched her, grinned at her or touched her on the face. Severus and the rest of them were forced to watch. Everyone else thought it was adorable.

The conversation made an unexpected leap at one time to how James and Lily were a long-shot couple. The teachers had even placed bets on whether or not Lily would ever give James a chance. They also talked of James' incessant invitations for a date.

"We all thought you did it to annoy her," Professor Flitwick told James slyly.

"Nope. I really liked her," James argued with a smirk. "Couldn't let her get away."

This seemed to embarrass her and she buried her head into James' shoulder.

Snape only had one question on his mind; Would this night ever end?

But the event was apparently a long-winded one, because after dinner was dessert, then dancing.

The professors paired off, and almost everyone seemed to be enjoying the event. The first song was slow, and Lily clung close to James. He settled his hands boldly on her lower back, and their foreheads leaned against each other. James was whispering to her softly.

Snape had to look away.

Lily comfortably breathed in James' breath. After a while, she noticed his restlessness. He couldn't keep his hands off of her. But this was a public place.

"Later," she adamantly demanded through her own giggles. "Control yourself."

"But sweetie," James smoothly coaxed, "nobody's watching, and even if they are, nobody cares."

"I care," she protested, grabbing his roaming hands. "Or we'll leave."

"Okay," he gleefully turned to go, but she grabbed his shoulder.

He turned, and in one swift movement, kissed her hard on the mouth as her scooped her into his arms.

Amidst the catcalls, Lily pulled away. "See? I told you they were watching."

James just smiled and spun her in a circle.

Snape left.


	19. Chapter 19

1"We shouldn't have made a scene," Lily fretted. She and James had stayed to talk to Professor McGonogall and Professor Dumbledore. Lily sat with her feet in James' lap, uncomfortable shoes discarded.

"It's not your fault," Professor McGonogall consoled. "I'm afraid he just doesn't feel comfortable."

James sat somberly, a look of agitated concentration on his face.

"I know he dislikes James," Lily continued, "and seeing him attract attention probably brought back some old memories."

"No," James contradicted softly. "He wants you, Lily. He couldn't peel his nasty eyes off your gorgeous body all night."

Lily put her feet down and moved closer to him. He wrapped protective arms around her and puled her onto his lap.

"He doesn't approve of relationships between people of his background and people of mine," Lily reminded softly.

"Regardless..." James maintained his belief.

Dumbledore looked sadly down at the couple. "I trust him. Y'all don't have anything to fear in him, but I fear for Severus himself. I noticed his interest in Lily also James. Just continue to act civil, please. James, you know that you can trust Lily and I am assuring you that you can trust Severus, so you can rest assured that everything will be fine."

"Well," James mused, "I don't plan on seeing him any time soon; my team goes on tour in January, so I won't be up here for a while. And I do trust Lily, so..."

James felt Lily cringe.

"What?" James asked.

"James, don't be mad," she asked. He stared. "I invited him to the party on Friday."

"What?" James repeated. There was a moment of silent, thick tension. James snapped, but not in a loud or violent way, but in a deadly serious and calm way. "Don't be naive, Lily. Snape, or anyone who holds his values, would love nothing more than to embed himself in our daily lives. My family and I, even you, hold a lot of power and know too much vital information to risk associating with those with questionable loyalties. You just want to believe that the world is prettier than it is, and for you, I wish it were. But it's not, and we've got to be careful."

"It was a nice gesture," Professor Dumbledore smiled at Lily. He seemed to dismiss James' fears. "It really would be wonderful if the two of you could resolve your differences."

James rested his head against Lily's back and sighed, making it obvious to everyone that the idea was ludicrous in his thinking.

"Well, I'll need some friends," Lily pouted teasingly. "You guys go on tour in January."

"You can stay with my parents," James countered, completely serious. "It's only five weeks."

"I'm tired," she responded, warning James quietly that this was not the place for this discussion. "We'll see y'all later."

Lily began to put her shoes back on.

"Just hold on to them," James instructed smugly. "Then he lifted her easily into his arms and messed with her hair. "I'll take care of you," he softly promised.

She laughed as he carried her, laughing, out of the castle.

"Are you worried about them?" Professor McGonogall asked Dumbledore in regard to the impending situation between the two old rivals.

"No," he replied truthfully, "but I'm hesitant to hope."

"James has grown up a lot, but he is still incredibly proud," McGonogall agreed. "He believes strongly about things. Everything is black and white in his eyes."

"Now that is definitely an unusual description of a marauder," Dumbledore smiled.


	20. Chapter 20

1Remus stood on the large veranda of James and Lily's house, stomping snow from his boots. He really hadn't intended on visiting, but he was hungry and there was no food in his refrigerator; Peter had visited earlier.

He knocked lightly, not wanting to awaken anybody that might be asleep. Nobody responded, so he gently pushed the door open. He was just going to steal some food and leave, but he heard sniffling coming from the front of the house.

Remus concernedly entered the living room. The fire was lit, and Lily sat in an armchair with her back toward Remus.

"Lily?" Remus quietly asked, not wanting to startle her.

She turned to him, her wild hair making her look small and lost. Her eyes were puffy and red. He walked over to her and sat on the coffee table in front of her.

"Where's James?" he asked quietly. She nodded toward the bedroom.

"He finally got to sleep," she managed. "Please don't wake him up."

"He's been really stressed out lately," Remus admitted. "Is that what's wrong?"

"Yes...No...I don't know," she knitted her brow. "I just don't want him to go on his tour."

"What? Why?" Remus asked confusedly. "I know you miss him when he's gone, but it's his job. He has to go."

The look she was giving him was making him scared.

"Do you need something?"

She guiltily lowered her eyes, but shook her eyes.

"Have you asked him about it? Talked to him? Anything?" Remus prompted.

She looked up at him, astonished.

"You know that James is really smart. The smartest," Remus told her. "But when it comes to having a clue...well, he doesn't. Anything you want him to know, you're going to have to tell him."

"Remus," she inaudibly begged him to understand, "It's not that simple."

He timidly searched her for an explanation, "Are you unhappy?"

"You know that I love him," Lily admonished, and Remus breathed a sigh of relief. It would just kill James if she left.

"I just don't know what to do," she began to cry again. "I didn't mean for this to happen. This was definitely supposed to be different."

He soothingly placed a hand on her shaking shoulder. "Lily, I don't understand what you are saying."

She mumbled something incoherent.

"What?" he questioned.

"I'm pregnant, Remus," the tears were flowing. Lily felt so guilty for telling Remus when she couldn't even tell James yet.

Remus smiled the largest smile that Lily had ever seen him flash, all anxiety gone.

"Is that all?" he laughed. "Gosh, Lily. You really had me scared for a second."

She didn't seem as enthused.

"Aren't you happy?" Remus valiantly tried to understand. Lily always talked about having a family.

"What will James say?" Lily whispered. "What if he's not ready, or if it's too much for him to take right now? We haven't talked about this, and we definitely didn't mean for this to happen for a while."

"You really are a worry wart," Remus dismissed her fears laughingly. "This is all he's ever wanted. Believe me."

He hugged her tightly and his stomach began to growl.

"Come on," he suggested, "let's get some food."

"We always thought it was Sirius who stole our food," Lily gasped, pulling away from him.

"Oh," Remus evilly grinned, "we all do it. Prongs gave us all a key."

Lily rolled her eyes.


	21. Chapter 21

1James sat I bed for a moment, trying to stop his head from spinning. There was something that he was supposed to be doing, but he was just too tired to remember.

The door bell rang again and suddenly he remembered why he'd awoken. Grabbing his glasses he stumbled sleepily to the front door.

"Seriously," James greeted his dad reprovingly, "it's Saturday."

"You should get to bed sooner if you want more sleep," Jonathan suggested, noticing that James was only wearing boxers. "Is this how you normally answer the door?"

James groaned. He stepped back to allow his dad entry, as he yawned and stretched. He was so exhausted that he failed to notice that Dumbledore was with his dad.

"I'm so tired, Dad," he complained as he stumbled his way into the kitchen.

"Why is Lily on the couch?" Jonathan asked his son, seeing her on his way into the kitchen and abruptly changing the subject.

James peaked around into the living room. Sure enough, Lily was sound asleep on the couch.

"I don't know," James responded, annoyed. "It is so early in the morning.

"Drink some coffee," Jonathan commanded, undaunted by his son's lack of hospitality. "We need to talk."

James was aware of his dad's unusually laughless tone and momentarily forgot his sleepiness. "What about?"

"James," his dad sternly asserted. "You don't question my motives, do you?"

James was struck at the randomness of the question, but was too tired to object to it.

He shook his head.

"And we're all trying to do what's best for everybody, right?"

"Where is this going?" James asked, in a passive aggressive manner. "I hate the turtle game, people always hiding in their shells, afraid to just come out and say what they are trying to say."

Jonathan looked sadly at his son for a second.

James probably would have humored his dad if he weren't still a little mad at him.

"Son, there is no more Quidditch League. We've got to put you guys' safety at the top of the priority list. All of the international leaders met two days ago. That is why you were watching Shelby," Jonathan watched James' reaction, which was unexpectedly blank. "We were attacked that night, and with the whole Nigerian team slaughtered last month, we were backed into a corner. I'm sorry, I wanted to talk to you sooner, but..."

"Whose idea was this, Dad?" James softly asked. There was a moment of pregnant silence. "Because it sounds like something you might do. Always a double standard. You are in fifty times the danger I am, but amazingly you are allowed to do your job, and I'm not."

"Now, James," Dumbledore interjected, stunning James, who hadn't realized he was there. "We really can't afford to lose lives over games. I was the one who suggested this."

James gave him a resigned look. "First you put my wife in terrible danger, then you won't let me work because I _might _be in danger?"

"James..." his dad cautioned.

James head dropped and banged against the table. "You've just got to give me a minute."

Just then, Sirius' burst through the front door.

"Prongs?" he yelled, and James could tell he was annoyed. "Did you hear about this?"

Sirius burst into the kitchen and slammed the article in front of James. Then he seemed to notice Jonathan and Dumbledore.

"Dad," James ignored Sirius and pleadingly implored his dad. "I am sorry for pushing this, and I'll believe whatever you tell me, but I have got to know if this was your doing?"

Jonathan seemed to carefully consider the question, before realizing the underlying question and responding heatedly, "No, Jamie. It wasn't my idea, but I am not opposed to it."

"I'm not mad that this happened, Dad! You want me to say that I'm okay with it? Well truthfully I'm relieved. You want me to say I was scared, Dad? Because I was scared," James retorted, his voice raising also. "I'm just mad that you won't be honest and that you are treating me like a little kid."

"Well then stop acting like one," Jonathan argued authoritatively. "I mean, you were more mature than you are acting when you were twelve!"

James got up and walked to his bedroom. Sirius followed him, quite surprised by his lack of reaction. After a moment of hesitation, Jonathan followed also.

James flopped onto his bed. "I really need some sleep," he moaned into his pillow.

"Where's Lily," Sirius asked, ignoring his dramatic friend.

"She's on the couch," Jonathan answered for him, motioning toward the living room. "I don't know why."

"That's strange," Sirius commented. "Did you two have another fight?"

"Another one?" Jonathan asked quietly, "They're not getting along?"

"Well, Sirius corrected himself quietly, "You know how James is. He just isn't thoughtful enough sometimes; self-absorbed."

James threw a pillow at him. "I'm not kidding! I need some sleep!"

Sirius caught the pillow. "This smells like Lily."

James lost all patience. Jumping up, he grabbed the pillow and threw it on the bed. Then he forcibly ushered his dad and his friend out into the hall and slammed the door.

"Breakfast?" Sirius awkwardly asked Jonathan, who nodded.


	22. Chapter 22

1Who was James yelling at? Lily pulled herself up from the couch and made her way towards their bedroom. But Sirius and her father-in-law were in her way.

"Hey, gorgeous," Sirius greeted.

Lily smiled. She knew she looked like crap.

"Why is James shouting?" she asked them.

"Something about sleep," Jonathan dismissed. "Is he alright?"

Lily looked at him funny for a moment. How was she supposed to know?

Lily pushed through them and opened the door to her bedroom. "James?"

James just grunted.

"Are you okay, baby?" she asked him, advancing towards the bed.

James lay on top of the covers with a pillow covering his head.

"I just want to sleep," he mumbled, obviously upset. She removed the pillow from his face.

"Can I get you something?" she asked him quietly, pushing the hair away from his eyes. His forehead was creased with tension.

Lily went to get him a wet cloth to help him sleep. She was slightly unnerved by Jonathan and Sirius standing in her doorway, but she chose to ignore them.

She put the cool cloth on his forehead.

"Where were you last night?" he managed.

"Don't worry about it," she soothed. "I just fell asleep on the couch."

He seemed to be relaxing, so she got up and left the room.

"Why is he so upset?" she asked the guys accusingly, after soundlessly closing the door.

Jonathan explained, "We've cancelled Quidditch."

Lily stared in quiet disbelief.

"We've been getting tips from some of our spies, and..." Jonathan was interrupted.

"Like Snape?" Lily accused.

"Like some of our spies," Jonathan evaded.

"Does James know that it was Snape?" Lily asked.

"No, thank goodness," Jonathan breathed.

She didn't know how to feel about the news. She sat quietly down at the table with Sirius and Dumbledore. Jonathan began to prepare breakfast. That was him, always taking charge.

There was thoughtful silence in the kitchen for a short moment. But that didn't last long, as Remus soon strode comfortably into the kitchen.

"Did y'all hear about this?" he asked, completely engrossed in the news article.

He sat, and looked up at the somber faces in the room, and felt incredibly stupid for asking such a ridiculous question.

Remus and Lily exchanged a significant glance, that was not lost on the others. But they were spared questions as Jonathan served the pancakes.

No one could think of anything to say, so they sat in uncomfortable silence; all except Sirius and Remus who seemed to be silently communicating across the table.

And all of a sudden Lily felt a little sick. She tried to quietly excuse herself, but Sirius noticed how weird she was looking.

"Are you okay, Lily?" he asked his greenish friend.

But Lily didn't answer. Se was sick. She abruptly stood and ran from the table, her long hair streaming out behind her.

"You get her, I'll get him," Sirius instructed lazily, and the two jumped from their chairs simultaneously.

James and Sirius emerged from the bedroom just in time to see Lily slam the door in Remus' face. James pushed past his concerned friends and knocked lightly on the bathroom door.

After a few seconds of no response, he entered.

Lily was on the floor, her head hanging over the toilet.

He knelt down beside her and deftly gathered her hair into a messy ponytail, protecting it. He rubbed her back soothingly, and after a while, she started to cry.

Lily hated to throw up, and she felt horrible.

Jonathan and Dumbledore quietly came to check on Lily, and as they approached, they saw James holding a crying Lily on the bathroom floor. Jonathan motioned for Remus and Sirius to stop gawking and leave them alone.

They went back to the kitchen and cleaned up before heading out. On the way to the door, Jonathan saw Remus whisper something to Sirius, whose eyes were getting bigger by the second.

"Really?" he asked excitedly.

"Don't mention it to Jamesm, or Lily will have my head," Remus warned.

Jonathan and Dumbledore exchanged amused glances. They could only guess what Remus knew.


	23. Chapter 23

1Peter sat quietly in his living room with Sirius and Remus.

Peter wasn't sure why they were grinning stupidly at him, and he didn't like the feeling. Either they knew something they weren't going to tell him, or they would eventually tell him, and he would be the last to know, again.

"Come on, you guys," Peter begged.

"Okay," Sirius nearly shouted from excitement.

Remus interrupted him immediately, voice almost as excited. "But you can't tell James, because he doesn't know. And you can't tell Lily that you know, or she'll kill me for telling you guys."

Peter was getting worried. That was a lot of people to avoid broaching a subject with, especially if it was as exciting as they made it out to be.

"Alright," Peter tentatively agreed.

"Lily's going to have a baby!" Sirius blurted.

There was a moment of awkward silence, Remus and Sirius expecting an outburst of happiness from their friend. But Peter was floored. He hadn't even considered that possibility before.

"What?" he whispered.

Sirius' smile faltered slightly at the look of disgust on Peter's face.

"It's James' baby," Sirius assured, confused by Peter's reaction.

"Why?" Peter asked aloud, though more to himself than to the others.

Remus answered carefully, aware of Peter's attitude, "To make up for all of the easy years of James' life. It's payback time, and this kid's my hero."

"Ooh!" Sirius realized. "Diapers!"

"And bottles, late nights, early mornings, slobbering..." Remus appeared to have thought the entire thing through. "When he walks, he'll be into everything, if he's anything like his dad."

"He?" Peter piped in questioningly.

"Oh," Remus shyly backtracked. "It has to be a boy, right? What would James do with a girl?"

The three of them began to laugh so hard at Remus' observation that Peter forgot to feel upset. He wasn't even sure why he felt that way to begin with.

Peter held up a good front until the others left, but the idea of Lily having James' kid was upsetting him again as he sat alone in his living room. He'd never told James, but he sort of felt abandoned when James got married. And now this kid would be the focus of James' world forever.

Peter really wished that he could be happy for his friend, but he wished even more that he could have his friend's life. James always had everything that Peter dreamed of; popularity, smarts, Lily and now this kid. But most importantly, James was significant. He held power. And Peter really wanted power.

Peter was beginning to feel bitter. He was beginning to resent James, but he didn't have much time to dwell on this, as the other two were back soon with drinks.


	24. Chapter 24

1James sat up in Dumbledore's office, running wearied hands through his mop of hair. Dumbledore was taking full advantage of the break in James' schedule. And put his strategist to work.

Maybe it was James' understanding of Quidditch that gave him the insight into the enemy's mind, but James was great at evaluating battle strategies and always okayed a plan before it was put into action.

James was becoming exhausted though. He'd been trying for hours to decipher the plan that he'd been given to assess, but he couldn't make it work.

"And you can't give me a couple more guys?" James asked Dumbledore pleadingly. He didn't see how the plan could possibly work.

Professor McGonogall had come to see Dumbledore and had interrupted this scene. She'd been having a problem with escalating quarrels between the houses, and needed to discuss what to do about it.

But she hadn't left immediately after settling her business. She had never before witnessed James sort through plans with Dumbledore, and she found it quite interesting.

"What if we reassigned the front line, splitting it between the west door and the side defense?" Dumbledore suggested.

James' tongue slid back and forth across his top lip in concentration.

"No," he finally responded. "That weakens the northern attack because of the attention the extra enforcement would draw. We'd lose fourteen men in the process."

James leaned back in his chair and stretched his long arms into the air, then took a sip of coffee. He was beginning to feel like there was nothing he could do, when a sudden idea struck him.

"Wait," James slowly bent over the plans to reevaluate. "You could assign a middle guard that will free up two guys from each defense, then assign them to the northern attack group. Four guys will hardly attract attention, but they'll be sure to do some damage before they can be countered, opening the path for the second wave to come in.

Dumbledore smiled, but James just stared into space for a moment, trying to work out every detail before finalizing the plans.

"Yeah," James finally agreed, "give it to my dad. It'll work."

He wearily took a sip of hot coffee and sighed heavily.

Professor McGonogall smiled. She had no idea that James did all of this work until about a month ago, yet apparently he'd been working like this since seventh year.

It had started when James had been sent to see Dumbledore about a disturbance he'd caused, and had noticed some plans on his desk. James had suggested some changes, and they'd been successful, so James had worked ever since, usually as an alternative to detention.

But James wasn't as thrilled as Dumbledore about the plans he'd just approved.

"Tell him that an eastern line of seven guys would really help him out, but that they can't come from the other groups, they'll have to be extra guys. Tell him that if he staggers them then they won't attract as much attention, and they'll be able to offer the general attack force more time, and reduce casualties. Tell him that it won't work without at least five and that I'll go for him if I need to."

This seemed to please James a lot more, and he rolled the finalized plans. He put a seal of wax on them and handed them proudly to Dumbledore.

James looked out the window and realized that it was almost dark. He hadn't meant to spend so much time up at the school, but the news of the morning had given him the time.

He really needed to get home. Lily had been so sick that morning, and he'd stayed with her only until she fell asleep. Felling ashamed of himself for having left her, he quickly began to gather his things.

"Do you mind running these to your father?" Dumbledore asked James.

James gave him an apologetic look. "Lily," he explained simply.

"Oh, yes," Dumbledore apologized. "I forgot. Was she feeling any better?"

"I wish I knew," James guiltily admitted. "She fell asleep and I came up here. But she was okay enough to sleep, so..."

Dumbledore nodded as James trailed off. Then slyly winked at James, who gave him an utterly confused look as he shrugged on his heavy coat.

James headed out the door.

"I've been hearing rumors," McGonogall whispered.

"Oh?" Dumbledore responded.

"Do you know if Lily is expecting?" she asked.

"That boy is clueless," he answered. "All of his friends know."

I'm not against posting the rest of the story, but if nobody is reading, I'm just going to stop. It is a lot of a hassle to re-type this if people don't care, so we'll see.


	25. Chapter 25

1Lily was busy preparing dinner when James came in. He walked into the kitchen and kissed her cheek.

"Sorry about leaving you," he whispered in her ear.

She just smiled at him, "I'm fine, James."

James took all of his bags into his office and began dumping his work from Dumbledore onto his uber-organized desk. But he couldn't bring himself to get started on it yet, so he ambled back into the kitchen.

"Lily," he greeted enthusiastically, "it's almost Christmas!"

She smiled at his anticipation, "I really thought I'd have to cheer you up a lot more than this."

James smirked at her, "If you want to try to make me feel better then I'm not going to stop you."

"But you're okay," she asked quietly, hoping this wasn't a facade.

There was silence for a moment, and Lily thought he hadn't heard her. But he did eventually answer.

"It's strangely relieving. It's been tense in the locker room for a while, and I can't say that I wasn't expecting this. We all knew that there were major security threats. You never know what can happen out there, and I was worried about you when I was gone."

She quietly brought James a plate of food. She sat it in front of him, and turned to go get her own, but he grabbed her hand, looking her square in the eye.

"I'm going to be working for Dumbledore a lot more than I used to be, though. You're okay with that, right?"

She glanced down at him and shrugged, "Don't get hurt, James."

She turned to go, but he pulled her back again, "Lily..."

There was a lone pause.

"What is it?" she asked, sinking into the chair next to his and clutching his other hand.

"I just...things are getting worse," he was slumping a little, something James rarely did in all of his energy. "I want you to talk to Dumbledore about finding someone else to teach for you."

Lily let go of his hand slowly, and stood to her feet. She began to prepare a plate for herself, and didn't answer him until she sat back down.

"You're not generally a bitter person, James, and I'm utterly confused," she spoke, harsher than she intended.

His head snapped up at her, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean that you're probably not Snape's best character judge," she softly retaliated. "You're a little biased."

"Why do you assume that's why I don't want you working?" he challenged.

"Well, if that's not it, then please enlighten me, because I'd not heard this request until Snape comes along," she whispered. Their conversation on the verge of becoming a fight. "You may not be prejudiced, but you sure are quick to allow some mistakes in a person's life to dictate that person's value."

"Not just anyone, Lily," he corrected. "Snape."

"James, I need to know what this is about," she struggled to keep her voice even. "I'd rather not digress back to fighting with you about this, but you're going to have to help me out."

"I trust Sirius," James told her. She was completely confused as to the jump in logic James was making. "I believe what he tells me. Lily, neither of us have ever been around Snape like he has, or anyone like Snape. Sirius was raised in it. He's a really good judge of people, especially when it comes to loyalties."

She gaped. Was he really mad because of Sirius' opinion.

"I never took you as a follower," she said before she could stop herself. She knew her next words would get her husband riled up, but she couldn't stop them, she had released the floodgates. "I see now that the four of you have one brain. That explains a lot. Thank you for clarifying."

James' head was pounding with indignation. Of course he had more reason's for not wanting Lily around Snape, and he wasn't really sure why he'd said it was because of Sirius. But he was struggling to find words of explanation.

She swept up out of her seat and made to leave the kitchen. But before she could leave, she heard his quiet voice.

"You," he said weekly. "You're it, babe. You're all I've got now. My family is falling apart and my friends are...well, Lily, Dumbledore says someone really close to us has been feeding secrets to the wrong people. I am worried that something might happen to you."

"What does that have to do with Snape," she asked cooly. "I'm safer at Hogwarts than anywhere else. I sometimes think that you believe Snape to be the ultimate evil. But he's not, James. I've spent a little time with him and I think he's trying."

James didn't respond.

"But I see," Lily continued. "You trust Sirius more than me. I've known that for ages, it just never really bothered me before now. Well, you and Sirius just go on your own crusade of insubstantial evidence, and when you're ready to come back to reality, I'll be in bed."

And she was gone, leaving James alone in the kitchen. He'd never been so unsuccessful in trying to talk to her...well... at least not since before they'd started dating.


	26. Chapter 26

1He wanted a drink so badly. He needed a drink. He ordered one and it sat in front of him; a temptation of death.

The three broomsticks was remarkable empty for a Saturday night, but Severus wore a hooded disguise anyways. Old habits could be hard to break.

Severus just stared at his drink. He was on the verge of giving in when the most unexpected person came in. The man sat a few seats away from Severus and ordered a strong drink.

James Potter was the last man that Severus wanted to talk to, but he found the situation he was in quite agreeable. Severus had never been around James in a casual setting, and never without James aware of his presence. This gave him a chance to observe his enemy.

James was sitting slumped at the bar. The old barkeeper was talking to him, but James was not an engaging conversationalist that night, and after a while, the man left.

James was deep in thought. He had removed his glasses and was rubbing his eyes wearily. James wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, but he continued to take sips of his drink. If Severus didn't know James better, he would have felt sorry for him, that is if Severus could be bothered feeling sorry for others. Point being, James was obviously distressed.

James had been through two pints when a woman came up and sat down beside him, between James and Severus. James didn't even give her a sideways glance, but that didn't daunt her.

"James," she greeted. "I thought that was you. How have you been?"

James glanced up at her, and Severus was surprised to see a downtrodden look in his eyes. "What are you doing?"

James was very blunt in his observation of her flirtatious manner, and Severus was surprised. He would have expected James to welcome it, but maybe this just wasn't the night.

"Well, you looked a little upset," the woman continued. "I've been keeping up with your career, you know, Quidditch. I always knew you'd be famous."

She gave an annoying laugh of glee. James didn't respond.

"Of course with all of the problems now..." she gave a false sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry."

James truly doubted it.

The woman put a hand on James' arm and began moving in closer.

"I know it must be tough for you," she whispered seductively. "You need to talk."

"I _don't _need to talk," he emphasized as he swiftly and intentionally knocked her hand off of his arm.

"You need someone who understands you," she told him dissolutely, stroking his large hand.

Severus got the distinct feeling that the woman was no longer talking about Quidditch.

James' eyes narrowed, "What are you saying?"

But the woman just shrugged, a nasty smile lingering on her red lips.

"Where's your wife?"

"_Lily_," he placed extreme emphasis on her name, "is none of your business, and neither am I."

"Touchy, touchy," she responded loftily. "There wouldn't be a problem going on between you two?"

"I'm just here to have a drink," he told her, looking down and not meeting her eyes. "I don't really feel like talking."

There was a moment of contemplative silence. James glanced up, daring her with his eyes to continue the conversation.

"We don't have to talk," she whispered heavily into his ear, but Severus still heard. "We could go back to my place. Lily would never have to know."

James seemed even more desperate, "Please go."

The begging in his voice surprised Severus. But the woman seemed to take the not too subtle hint. She stood and walked around James, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"If you change your mind, I'll be here," she teased into his ear.

Then she ran her fingers through his hair as she walked away.

When James picked up his drink, Severus saw that his hands were shaking.

Sirius held Peter back as he watched James tell his pursuer off. Sirius whispered for Peter to go tell Lily that James was okay and then meet him back at the Three Broomsticks with Remus for damage control.

Sirius quietly made his way towards James and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Severus saw and continued to observe.

James looked at Sirius with an expression Severus had never seen him wear before: weakness.

"I saw," Sirius greeted.

"What's up?" Sirius asked, but James understood that this was more than just a casual question.

"Every time I see her!" James struggled to find the words. "I don't want to cheat on Lily, and I won't, but she's just so tempting!"

Sirius nodded.

"She knows how to dig her claws into me," James breathed deeply. "Whenever I'm the weakest, that's when she appears. One of these days, I'm afraid she'll get me."

"She's evil, man," Sirius agreed.

James was visibly shaking, "I seriously have to think about Snape every time I see her, and she's not half as appealing to me as Lily is. I don't know why she gets to me like this."

Severus cringed. Was he really James' method of repulsion?

"Stop drinking," Sirius softly instructed. "You've had enough."

"It didn't used to take this much booze to chill me out," James reminisced.

"Okay, pal," Sirius dropped his voice. "Don't you dare rat me out, because I'm doing this for you. Remus told me, we all know. Lily doesn't hate you and she's not sick, James."

"Yeah, she does, and yeah, she is," James irrationally argued.

"And emotional," Sirius added. "Prongs, you're supposed to be smart! She's not sick, she's pregnant."

James looked more scared than Sirius or Severus had ever seen him.

"She's not," he shook his head. "We didn't mean to...I mean, she can't be."

He brought his voice down to barely a whisper.

"We've taken precautions!"

"Well, buddy," Sirius slapped his back, "your planning didn't work."

James stared unbelievingly.

"So don't be getting into any trouble with Miss Freaky over there," Sirius warned.

James did the most unexpected thing in Severus' opinion; he reached over and hugged Sirius tightly.

Sirius didn't seem too surprised, "You're going to be a dad!"

And that was when Severus' heart fell.

"I really am excited," he told Sirius quietly, "but my world has just been spinning lately, man."

"That's probably the beer," Sirius checked his friend's running tab. "Five drinks?"

James shrugged.

"Well," Sirius smiled, "This is as lucid as you've ever been after this much alcohol."

James stared evilly at Sirius, "Don't start with me. You know I'm fine."

"You are amazingly resilient," Sirius agreed, "but that doesn't mean that Lily won't smell it on you, so we better get you cleaned up. You two need to talk."

"I don't think she wants to talk to me right now," James confessed and proceeded to tell Sirius all about his confrontation with Lily.

Severus left the bar that night feeling better than he had in weeks, and never having touched a drink. Knowing Lily had stuck up for him gave him a renewed faith in the world. And to Severus, James Potter was officially scum.

But the revelations of the night were bittersweet. Potter had fathered Lily's child. And despite his attitude towards himself, Potter hadn't taken the opportunity to cheat on Lily. Severus couldn't accuse him of anything, and it infuriated him to no end.

But Severus wasn't worried. He now held all of the cards. He would be working with Potter's wife and teaching his little sister. Excellent.


End file.
